the history between us
by Smudgee
Summary: Sometimes history repeats itself until you get it right. Or, in other words, two idiots in love figure out how to make it work.
1. Chapter 1

"Betty! When is your friend getting here again?" Veronica yells across the room, trying to determine the best position for the throw pillows on Betty's sofa.

"Uh," she hears Betty start, "I think around three o'clock. Why?"

Veronica rolls her eyes in fond exasperation. "Because we need to make sure your apartment is ready."

"V, trust me, Jughead isn't going to care about throw pillows or fresh flowers," Betty says, walking into the room and sitting down on the sofa Veronica had just arranged.

Squawking in outrage, she thumps Betty on the shoulder with a soft pillow, making her move to the chair across from the sofa so she can rearrange everything again.

"Veronica," Betty says firmly, "Jughead is going to be more worried about where to get a burger than if the pillows have the perfect feng shui."

Huffing, Veronica flops on the sofa. "Fine. But if your friend can't sleep on the couch, tell him it's the bad juju of the pillow placement."

Laughing at her, Betty gives her hand a affectionate squeeze. "I will absolutely tell Jughead that his lack of sleep has nothing to do with his coffee habit, his staying up at all hours to write, or his need to finish books at two in the morning. It was all me and my lack of proper pillow usage."

"Good. See that you do," Veronica tells her with a smile, slapping her hands on her thighs as she stands up. "Now, did you want to run to the grocery store before he gets here or what?"

"Sure, V," Betty replies, following her through the very short hallway to the door, grabbing her purse on the way out and locking the door behind them.

Veronica Lodge has spent many years learning not to be judgmental. It's not her natural state of being and each time she stops herself from making a snap judgment about someone she's a little proud of herself.

So, it's with some amount of pride that she refrains from the snark desperate to pour out of her mouth when she sees Jughead Jones for the first time. She supposes there could be some appeal if you were into flannel and sarcasm topped off with a wool beanie.

She'd always thought the infamous Jughead that Betty constantly talks about would be somehow-more. Veronica had assumed he'd have to be to be able to keep Betty on her toes over the last few years, that the gravitational pull he's got on her should be plain to Veronica, but it's not.

She gets why Jughead would like Betty, everyone likes Betty. Her sunshine and sweetness wrapped up in steel is very appealing while also making you feel both safe and strong. Why Betty would like Jughead is where she gets confused.

Watching them laugh and hug like they've never been apart stings slightly as she realizes she doesn't have that past with anyone, and the soft smile Jughead keeps smiling at Betty makes her antennae go on alert. She's been worried that history was going to repeat itself but at his smile, she thinks it's not an _if_ situation, it's a _when_ one.

Betty has Jughead by the arm, looking like they've done it a thousand times before when she throws him a Cooper smile before turning to look back at Veronica. "V, this is Jughead. Juggie, this is Veronica Lodge."

 _Juggie_? Veronica tucks that away for later.

Sticking her hand out politely, she says, "Nice to meet you, Jughead. Any friend of Betty's and all that."

He raises an eyebrow at her, looking both amused and wary before shaking her hand in just one up and down motion before dropping it and stepping back into Betty slightly. "Nice to meet you, Veronica. Betty's told me all about you."

Pursing her lips, she offers him a stiff smile. "I...wish I could say the same."

Jughead stiffens.

Betty scoffs quietly and narrows her eyes at her. "Jug, Veronica is just messing with you, of course I told her all about you."

He huffs out a strained laugh. "I'm not sure which scenario is worse, Betts."

 _Betts_?

Suddenly feeling like she's intruding, Veronica claps her hands together and says a little too loudly, "So, back to yours, Betty?"

Nodding, Betty gestures in the right direction so they can leave the train station. Picking up the bag he had set by his feet to hug Betty, he smiles at her one last time before tugging on her ponytail and following them up the stairs and onto the street. Each step is starting to feel a little heavier as she listens to Betty as she points out landmarks to Jughead and telling him about the burgers she's found across the city she thinks he'd like.

Taking a deep breath, Veronica tries to put her reservations to rest and starts to ask him questions about himself. "So, Jughead, Betty tells me you're writing a book?"

"Yeah, it's about the insidiousness of small town crime," he responds, his hands shoved in his pockets as he walks next to Betty. "I have a meeting with a publisher while I'm here."

"Jug!" Betty exclaims, dropping her hand and throwing her arms around him. "That's fantastic, why didn't you tell me?!"

Her eyes narrow as she sees Jughead's hands come out of his pockets and press into Betty's back, holding her to him. Glancing at his face, she sees his eyes are closed with another soft smile crossing his face as he holds her against him.

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

Betty is bouncing on her toes and clapping. "It is. It's a great surprise!"

"It means I would have to move here," he tells her softly.

"Move here?" Betty squeals out, her happiness clear. "Veronica, did you hear that?"

Veronica's smile is as sincere as she can make it. "I did, Bettykins, it's...wonderful."

Jughead grimaces at her tone. Betty is too distracted to notice, thank god.

"Now if we can only get Archie here, it'll be like we always wanted when we were younger," Betty is saying as she starts walking again, pulling them both along with her.

With no desire to walk even longer in her heels than she has to, she pulls on Betty's hand. "B, let's get a cab, okay?"

Betty looks down at Veronica's shoes with a wince. "Sure."

Waving down a taxi, Veronica gets in first, letting Betty climb in the middle so Jughead is on her far side for the relatively short ride back to Betty's apartment. She lets out a breath and tilts her head back, the feeling of unease creeping up her spine as she listens to Betty whisper lowly to Jughead. She takes a deep breath trying not to think about all of the problems and pitfalls of their past that Betty's told her about. If it's never worked before, why it work now? she thinks, worrying about her best friend's emotional state of having the habit she could never shake within grabbing distance for the foreseeable future.

Wishing she felt more confident in that thought, she gazes out of the car window as they pull up to the curb outside Betty's building.

Jughead climbs out of the car first, offering a hand to help Betty out a he grips his duffle bag in one hand, slowly letting go as she gains her footing. Turning around to Veronica she offers her own hand with a smile, helping her step out of the cab as she turns down the money for the fare both Jughead and Betty try to offer her with a raised eyebrow and wave of her hand.

Shrugging and sticking his money back in his pocket and Betty tries to shove hers into Veronica's purse much even as she slaps at her hand as she leads Betty up the stairs and into her building, thanking the heavens there's an elevator in it and they won't have to climb multiple flights of stairs.

The ride up is almost awkward as Betty tries to make small talk between the three of them, Veronica and Jughead both trying hard to be friendly for her sake as her smile stayed plastered on and her enthusiasm was just a touch over the top in her need to have them become friends. Neither of them want to disappoint her, Veronica knows, so she smiles at her and asks Jughead more about his book and he pretends to care about her opinion as she pretends to care about his answers and they both smile at the relief on Betty's pretty face.

* * *

He's been sleeping on Betty's sofa for a month now. The longest and shortest of his life, he thinks. The meeting with a publisher had gone well and he'd been looking for apartments, with no luck so far. Well, with no luck for something safe and habitable in his price range he should say.

The need to get off of Betty's sofa and onto his own is mounting since he thinks he'd be happy and content to stay with Betty indefinitely. Which is a problem, he knows. If he gets one more suspicious side eye from Veronica Lodge he worries he might just start confessing all of his dirty thoughts and begging for Betty's forgiveness.

Denial of his feelings for Betty had been easy when they were younger, required even. Her infatuation with Archie helped him push them aside for a few years, then his bad choices helped him push her away before they collided again and again and again over the years. It had always been horribly complicated but simple between them, especially when she was in college, a place where he just couldn't follow.

He had wanted to. Oh god, how he had wanted to. That hadn't been in the cards for him and he let her go with only the idea that the memories they made was what was going to keep him warm at night. Betty had flourished in college away from her controlling parents and expectations, she had learned to let loose and have fun. He'd been happy for her.

Despite the fact that they couldn't manage to stay away from each other every time they were in the same town.

Admittedly, he'd been less happy when she tried dating after a particularly bad spring break. She had laid it out on the line and he, once more, told her he couldn't put her in that position. She ended up telling him that if he couldn't bring himself to date her then she'd damn well find someone who would.

There was a part of him that thought, maybe, once they were both older, when he was established and independent that possibly-

Not that whatshisname mattered anyway, it lasted only until she came home for the summer where they both ended up pretending they weren't going to see each other. That had lasted all of maybe three days before he was climbing up the side of the Cooper house, sneaking into Betty's bedroom, and crawling into her bed and wrapping her up in his arms.

It had been easier to stay away from each other after she'd graduated, her move in the city had kept her busy and he'd only seen her at the holidays. It made him realize how no matter what he told her, they'd essentially been dating, albeit long distance, from the first break of her freshman year to the last summer she spent at home before moving into the apartment he was currently standing in.

 _No point in dwelling_ , he tells himself while pouring a cup of coffee that morning, waiting for Betty to come out of her room, their routine that had been established had become the most important part of his day. Leaning against her counter, the steaming mug warming his hands while he waits in sweatpants and an undershirt, bare feet crossed at the ankles and un-brushed hair, he hears the front door open and his body tenses, knowing who he's about to see.

When he hears the footsteps getting closer he tries to take a casual sip of his coffee when he hears, "Oh look, Betty's own little street urchin, up with the sun. How...suspect."

Wincing, he plasters a strained smile on his face as he turns to face Veronica. "Good morning, Veronica. Coffee?"

"Did you make it?"

Jughead sighs, setting his coffee mug on the counter. "Yes."

Veronica narrows her eyes at him. "Then no, no I don't. But thank you."

"I'm sure," he mutters to himself, facing the counter, busying himself with anything he can think of until Veronica is gone from the kitchen. "What are you doing here so early?"

"So, Jughead, have you found a place to live yet?" Veronica asks him, ignoring his question. He can feel the pointed stare even if he can't see it as he hears her pull out a chair at Betty's little kitchen table to sit in.

Taking a deep breath, he straightens up before turning to her. "No, I haven't. But I feel like you knew that."

Veronica shrugs. "I did know that. In fact, I told B last night that she should-"

"Good morning!" Betty announces with a sunny smile, breezing her way through the kitchen door, squeezing his arm as she reaches for a mug to pour coffee for herself. "Thanks for making this, Jug."

He can't help himself as he smugly smirks at Veronica over the rim of his own mug. She's glaring at him but he can't stop the satisfaction he feels over scoring that point. Tilting his cup to her in a mock toast, he winks at her while Betty is still distracted.

"So, Jug, what do you have planned today?" Betty asks him, walking over to Veronica and sitting down at the small table next to her.

"Apartment hunting, Betts," he replies, smiling at her. He sees Veronica roll her eyes. Catching on to her odd dislike of his childhood nickname for her, he's tried to use it as much as possible in her presence.

Taking a drink of her coffee, her soft sound of satisfaction sending memories up his spine, she's still all smiles as she talks about making dinner that night and asking Veronica what her plans are when he hears his name again.

"What was that?" he interrupts her, taking a step closer the table and pulling out the chair across from her before sitting down.

"I was asking if you and Veronica wanted eat here tonight," she clarifies, resting her chin on her hand as she stares at him.

Seeing and then promptly ignoring the barely concealed glare Veronica's shooting his way, he shrugs. "Sure, I don't see why not."

He hears Veronica's frustrated intake of air as he slides his mug back and forth between his hands on the wood of the table.

"Good," Betty tells them both before getting up and setting her mug in the sink, walking out of the kitchen while telling them what time she wants them both there that evening. Jughead rolls his eyes fondly, like he has anywhere else to be.

"You," Veronica hisses out at him, "need to stop being so obvious."

"Obvious about what?" he asks, knowing exactly what she's referring to.

"Look, Jughead. I get it, how you could have feelings for Betty all this time, especially with the history you share-"

"You know about that?" Jughead's jaw tenses and he grips the coffee mug in his hand hard.

"Ugh, the male ego, it's so-"

"This has nothing to do with ego! How would that-"

Veronica waves her hand in his face, shutting him up. "Jughead, Betty is my BFF, did you really think I didn't know about every time she went home? Each time you tried and failed to keep your hands off of each other?"

"Why must you be the way you are?"

"Do you mean fabulous?" Veronica asks with a smirk. "That's not the point, now is it? The point is that she's told me about all of it, and you, Jughead, are dangerous."

Furrowing his eyebrows at her, he asks, "Dangerous how, exactly?"

She rolls her eyes dramatically at him. "Oh please, you wrote your own version of some star crossed lovers who couldn't be together but managed to get in each other's pants every time you were in the same five mile radius of one another. That's not star crossed, Jughead, that's an _excuse_."

Glaring at her, he knows she's partially right. But also completely wrong. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Scoffing at him, she taps her fingernails on the table. "Spare me your dramatics. We both know that had you wanted to be together, you would have been. You can wrap it up in romantic wrapping paper all you want but we both know the only thing that stopped you from being with her? Was _you_."

"Veronica," he huffs out wearily, "as fun as this little tête-á-tête is, you staring at me like you want me dead every time we're in the same room is going to start stressing Betty out."

"Are you going to break her heart again, Jughead?" she asks, slumping back into her own chair, looking frustrated.

Jughead winces at the implication. "You say that as though I didn't destroy mine as well."

At an impasse, they just stare at one another.

* * *

Betty is walking down the hallway when she's thrown five years into the past as Jughead walks out of the bathroom and into the hallway in nothing but a towel.

 _"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asks her, gently running a thumb across her cheekbone._

 _Nodding at him, she shuffles closer to him on her knees, wobbling slightly as she moves across the mattress in his trailer. "I am, you know I am."_

 _"We don't have to do this, Betty. It doesn't have to be this way," he whispers to her as she gets closer, pulling at the hem of his shirt._

 _"Don't you want to?" Her voice cracks with a wave of insecurity._

 _Jughead closes his eyes and runs a hand through his hair, pulling off his beanie and tossing it aside as he does it. "Betty-" He stops and takes a deep breath. "-there's nothing I want more right now."_

 _"But?" she questions him, settling on her knees and looking up at him through her lashes._

 _"Fuck, Betty, don't look at me like that," he demands, putting both hands on her cheeks as he pulls her in and kisses her for the first time._

 _And it is the very first time. They'd never meant to cross all of the lines together at the same time but that's just how it seemed to work out._

 _Her breath catches at the feel of his lips on hers, her arms going around his back, gripping the fabric of his shirt. His hands slide lower and down her neck as the edge of his tongue runs across her lips as she opens her mouth him, sliding her tongue against his, a slight groan from him making her pull him tighter into her._

 _As one of his hands moves down to her lower back she's grabbing at his t-shirt trying to pull it off while still kissing him, making him laugh into her mouth._

 _"Betty-" he starts as he breaks away and leans back, letting her pull the shirt over his head._

 _Staring at his shoulders and his chest, she's running her hands across him, ignoring the piercing gaze she knows he's trying to pin her with._

 _"I know you don't want to date me, Juggie, but keeping this from me, all this time? It's unforgivable," she informs him, somewhat primly, as she trails her fingertips over his abdomen._

 _She can hear him sigh as he tilts her chin up with a finger to make her look at him. "Can't date you, Betty. Not that I don't want to. If I could, I would. In an instant. In a heartbeat. There's no one I'd rather date than you, Betty. You know that, right?"_

 _Shrugging at him, she looks away._

 _"Betty." His voice is firm. "Look at me."_

 _Stubborn as she is, she keeps her eyes focused on one of his old movie posters hanging on the wall._

 _"Now, Elizabeth," he commands and she can't help herself as her eyes fly towards his. "I'd date the hell out of you, Cooper."_

 _"But you won't," she laments, pulling at a thread she sees loose on the waist of his jeans._

 _"You're leaving soon, Betty. And my choices are keeping me here and keeping me from being with you the way I want. I don't want you in this life with me, you're better than this whole town and you're going to go prove it," he tells her softly and she nods. Betty doesn't agree with him but she knows he's not going to give in. Not when it comes to this._

 _"We have really bad timing, Jug."_

 _He exhales softly into her hair as he pulls her close to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "Yeah, but, you know what we do have?"_

 _"What?"_

 _"Each other, if only for tonight," he says, kissing the top of her head._

 _Betty tries to swallow the lump in her throat. "It's not enough."_

 _"No," he agrees, pulling back and pushing her hair off of her face. "It's not."_

"Betty?"

Startled out of her thoughts she notices Jughead right in front of her. "What's up, Jug?"

"What are you doing just standing in the hallway?" he asks, pulling his towel tighter around his waist, distracting her again.

"Reminiscing," she says, a small smile on her face.

Jughead smirks at her. "Yeah? About what?"

She wants to smack him as he pushes his wet hair back off of his forehead as he leans against the wall next to her bedroom.

"Ugh, you're so smug," she informs him, rolling her eyes. "I wasn't even thinking about _that_ night, anyway."

He straightens up, looking at her intently. "Which one then?"

She shrugs lightly before meeting his eyes. "The first night, where we were supposed to but didn't."

"That's one of my favorites you know," he tells her, a genuine smile flitting across his face.

"Yeah," she says softly, passing him to walk into her bedroom, "me too."

Closing her door softly behind her, she makes her way to her bed, flopping down on it, the soft blankets seemingly swallowing her up as she looks at her cell, a text from Veronica waiting.

 _Be there soon, B!_

With a sigh, she hugs her pillow to her as she closes her eyes tightly for a moment before grabbing her phone and dialing a well known number.

"Hey, Archie," Betty says quietly.

His immediate reply of, _"What's wrong?"_ warms her heart, some things never change and she's glad for it.

"Archie," she starts, not wanting to talk about it but knowing she needs to.

 _"Betty,"_ she hears, his exhale almost palpable through the line, _"he's never not going to love you, you have to know that."_

She feels the tears forming as she nods to the empty room. "I know."

 _"Then what's going on?"_

"I'm worried we're never going to get past old habits," she admits, wiping a hand under her eyes to get rid of the tears she still fighting. "That I'll keep giving all of myself while he holds me at arms length."

 _"Do you really believe that, Betty? You know how much he loves you,"_ Archie's voice is soft, concerned as he asks the question.

"I waited, Archie! For years, I've waited and he kept putting me off, told me to move on, insisted I move on and I tried junior year, remember? Not that it lasted longer than a couple months but still..." Betty trails off angrily, sitting up in her bed, crossing her legs and holding onto a pillow in her lap. "Forgiving him for that was the easiest and hardest thing I've ever done."

 _"I know, Betty. He waited too, you know, he tried to get out,"_ Archie says calmly. " _He tried hard, Betty, but everything kept falling apart around him."_

"I would have waited anyway!" Betty insists, frustrated. "And I could have helped him."

 _"He knows that, too."_

"Ugh," she moans out, laying back down. "I thought I could have him here without falling back into bed with him. And I haven't! I've tried to be nothing more than his friend but we've never been just friends and everyone knows that. Why did he push me away, Arch? I just wanted to be with him-"

 _"Hey, come on, Betty. He knows all of this, I promise. But you know Jughead."_

Betty finally laughs a little. "Yeah, that's half the problem."

 _"He loves you so much, Betty. He just wants you to be happy."_

"I love him too," she says in a small, sad voice. "And that's the other half of the problem."

* * *

Jughead is standing in Betty Cooper's hallway, wrapped in a towel, softly banging his head against the wall next to her door as he listens to her half of the conversation with Archie.

He remembers the night he heard Betty had finally started dating someone new. Or, at least, part of it. Archie is always willing to fill in the blanks for him if he's feeling morose.

 _"Tell me I made the right choice, Archie," Jughead mumbles from his place on the floor._

 _Archie exhales a long suffering sigh. "You made the right choice, Jug."_

 _Lifting his head, he squints as he tries to focus on Archie. "Are you lying to me, man?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"You could at least lie to me about lying to me!" Jughead insists, throwing his hands over his head, letting them smack against the hard floor, making him wince at the impact._

 _"Fine," Archie says. "You made the right choice. Telling Betty, the only girl you've ever cared about, to move on and then acting like a first class asshole until she does what you wanted was absolutely the right thing to do and you laying here, miserable and drunk on the floor because you heard that Betty, the only girl you've ever wanted to be with, is dating someone new makes perfect sense to me."_

 _"That didn't sound very sincere, man." Jughead feels the room starting to spin. "Wait, what do you think his name is? Probably something pretentious like Theodore or James Fancy Pants Williamsburg the Fifth"_

 _Archie snorts. "Yeah, because there's nothing ridiculous about either Jughead or Forsythe Pendleton Jones the Third."_

 _"Hey-"_

 _"And his name is Jonathan," Archie interrupts._

 _Jughead moans and rolls over, laying on his face. "I can't compete with that, Archie! A regular guy with a regular guy name that starts with a J. It's like she's taunting me."_

 _"You do know James starts with a J too, don't you? Jug-" Archie starts but Jughead cuts him off with another groan._

 _"I suddenly miss Theodore James Fancy the Fifth," he whines into the carpet, hearing Archie laughing from beside him._

 _"That's not even what you said."_

 _"At least with Fancy James the Fifth, he would have been pretentious and you know how much Betty hates that." He turns his head so he can see Archie sitting cross legged on the floor. "I miss her, man."_

 _Nodding solemnly at him, Archie lets out a quiet breath. "I know, Jug."_

 _"Do you think-"_

 _"Of course I do," Archie interrupts. "You know she still does too."_

Lifting his head off the wall, he turns to finish changing when he sees Veronica standing at the end of the hall, looking thoughtfully at him.

"Jughead," she says, lifting her chin at him.

Trying to ignore the fact that he's almost naked he stands up straight. "Veronica."

"I take it by your fairly pathetic mope session next to Betty's door that she's in her bedroom?" she asks him, adjusting her purse on her arm.

Biting back a sharp retort he just nods and walks passed her, not meeting her eyes as he goes to get dressed. It's not until he hears the soft click of Betty's door close once more that he lets his shoulders slump.

* * *

"Hey," Betty hears Veronica say as she shuts her bedroom door behind her.

"Hi." Rolling over, she sits up on her bed to look over at Veronica. "How was your day?"

Veronica shrugs. "It was fine, not much happened out of the ordinary."

"That's good," Betty says, smiling at her.

Veronica must notice her red eyes and blotchy cheeks because she immediately asks, "What's wrong? Did Jughead do something?"

Betty looks taken aback. "What? No. Why would you think that?"

"Maybe because when I came in he was standing next to your door looking guilty?"

Eyes big, she stares at her with her mouth slightly open. "The door?"

Looking suddenly suspicious, Veronica nods.

"Ugh," Betty groans out quietly, falling back on her bed. "That little-"

"B-"

Jumping off the bed, Betty storms out of her room and down the hall, Veronica on her heels.

 _ **"Forsythe!"**_

* * *

 **A/N- Just dropping this and running, enjoy! Or don't, I don't know, I don't own y'all. But if you have a thought to spare my ears are open. Much love!**


	2. Chapter 2

Veronica catches up to Betty at the end of the hallway, just in time to see Jughead jump and turn to Betty, pulling his shirt on quickly.

"What?" he says warily, eyeing Veronica over Betty's shoulder.

Crossed arms and looking irritated Betty starts in on him. "Were you listening to my conversation with Archie?"

Jughead pales slightly and lets himself sit hard on the sofa. "Betts-"

"You did, didn't you?"

He just nods at her and Veronica is just trying to keep up.

"Why, Jug?"

"Betty, come on, you know why."

"I did what you said, Jughead!" Betty almost shouts at him, making him wince. "And now you're here-"

"Do you want me to go?" he asks in a quiet voice and Veronica can hear the pain in it.

"No," Betty tells him and he visibly relaxes. "And yes. Sometimes I want to throttle you, Jug."

"I know," he tells her with a somber face. "I did this to us, I know that."

"But why? It was never necessary!" Betty finally raises her voice, seemingly having forgotten Veronica was standing behind her.

"It was!" Jughead declares. "You would have stayed with me in Riverdale until I could get out and that wasn't going to happen."

"Instead you just pushed me away," Betty states, her head falling forward. "You never even listened to what I wanted."

"I knew what you wanted," he says, eyes on her face.

Veronica is watching their byplay, feeling like she's intruding on something painfully personal but she can't move. She's not even sure she can breathe.

"It didn't matter though," Betty insists, wiping the tears that had fallen off of her cheek. Jughead looks like he wants to go to her but he catches Veronica's eyes and clenches his fists as he seems to make himself stand still.

"It mattered."

Betty laughs. "Really? It's not like we managed to keep our hands to ourselves anyhow, so why couldn't we just have been together that whole time?"

"Are you unhappy, Betty? Do you regret going to school and graduating college, getting yourself the job you always wanted and living in the city? Can you look at me and tell me you didn't want this for yourself?" Jughead is almost begging her to tell him what he wants to hear, his eyes glassy.

"I wanted all of that with you-"

"No," he interrupts, shaking his head. "I couldn't have given you that, I was stuck in the Serpents, Betty. I barely graduated and where was the money for college going to come from?"

"We could have figured something out!"

He laughs. "I have no doubt you would have killed yourself trying but I never wanted that life for you. And look at you! You're successful and beautiful and it's everything I ever wanted you to have."

"Don't patronize me, Jug. You took my choices, you always take my choices!" Betty yells, clenching her fists and Jughead's eyes focus on them. "I wanted to be with you, you said no. I wanted you to come with me, you said no. I waited for you, you said no."

Veronica wants to cry at the pain in Betty's voice. She'd spent many nights listening to her best friend pour her hurt out over the boy she grew up with and fell in love with.

 _"Wait," Veronica says, "You slept with him again over Christmas break?"_

 _"Yeah," Betty shrugged, playing with her ponytail. "I know I shouldn't have, not when he can't give me what I want from him but, V, I love him."_

 _"And does he love you?" Veronica asks, skeptically._

 _"I know he does," Betty tells her quickly. "That's never been the problem, it's always been this idea he has that I'm somehow worth more than him."_

 _Taking her hand and squeezing it in comfort, Veronica catches Betty's eyes. "Are you? Is he right?"_

 _"No," she answers decisively. "He's always been worth everything to me."_

It goes on like that over the years. Betty goes home and comes back a little more broken each time. Veronica always wonders if Jughead is just as broken in their neverending aftermath.

"I wasn't saying no," Jughead says. "Have I ever, in my whole life, been able to truly say no to you?"

"It sure sounded like no," Betty says, fists still clenched with angry eyes on Jughead.

Jughead closes the distance between them, prying her hands open with his own before lifting them up to look a them, seeing little red crescents on her palms. Veronica internally sighing in relief when they both see the skin hasn't broken.

The weight of the realization hits her so quickly, she speaks without thinking. "Every time he tells you no, B, he's showing you that he loves you."

Betty jolts in surprise. She must have forgotten Veronica was there since she spins around out of Jughead's grasp so quickly she almost wobbles before regaining her balance, Jughead's hands on her arms making sure she's upright. "But-"

Raising a hand to stop her, Veronica just looks at Betty. "You two need to deal with this once and for all, okay? No matter how this cycle ends, it has to end. And I know you know that."

"V-"

"Bettykins, listen to me," Veronica says, putting her hands on her shoulders and looking directly into her eyes. "I have watched you play tug of war with him for years. I thought it might have finally been over this last year and I had hoped you'd move on if he wasn't willing to be with you but he's here, right here, right now. He's moving here. And I bet if you ask him, he'll tell you it's all for you."

Betty turns back around to look at Jughead.

"Is that true? Did you do this for me?" Her voice is small and unsure, the heartbreak on Jughead's face plainly visible at her insecurity.

"You know it was, Betty," he tells her, pulling her into his chest.

Betty's arms hang limply at her sides and she starts to shake her head at his whispered words."It was all for you, the good choices I've made, sometimes even the bad ones, it's always all been for you."

Veronica gently squeezes one of her hands, "I'm going to go, B, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Betty just nods into Jughead's chest, the clicking of Veronica's heels on the floor fading until she was out the front door.

* * *

Arms wrapped around her, Jughead sighs into Betty's hair. "Betty-"

Cut off by being pushed back he's confused until he sees Betty's angry face as she crosses her arms in front of her.

"What are you-"

"I am so mad at you, Jughead!"

"Okay, I can see that and I don't doubt that I deserve it but can you, maybe, clarify why at this exact moment?" he asks, trying not to flinch as she glares at him.

"You were listening on my private conversation with Archie!"

Jughead thinks of all the things she could be mad about that she's picked a weird one. "Really?"

"Yes." Her stance is even more stiff than before.

"No, wait," Jughead tells her, running a hand through his hair, his beanie still sitting on the table where he put as he was changing, "seriously?"

Betty takes a step forward and he fights the urge to step back. "I have put up with a lot of things from you, Jughead Jones, but listening in on my private conversations-"

"I feel like you're focusing on a small part of a whole right now," Jughead says, hands out in a placating manner.

"You think so?"

Jughead shrugs. "Betty, come on, of all the things you're mad about, is this really the hill you want to die on?"

Poking him in the chest with each word she tells him, "Maybe I do. And if I want to, then that's my choice you indecisive asshole!"

"So, that's what this is about?"

"What?"

"Your choices. You thinking I'm indecisive."

Betty nods at him. "Sure, why not? You can't control everything and if I want to be mad at you for a stupid reason, then I damn well will be!"

"Are you done?"

"No," she retorts, kicking him with bare toes in the shin, surprising him.

He feels like he's going to burst out laughing at her pouting face and angry kitten demeanor. "Kicking me, now? Are you five?"

"Shut up, Jug," she demands, spinning around to walk by him when he grabs her wrist, spinning her back around before tossing her over his shoulder, making his way back to her bedroom as she slaps at his back, telling him to put her down.

"Look, Betts," Jughead starts calmly, "we need to deal with this. Now."

"You deal with it," she mutters.

He almost drops her at the sharp pinch she gives his side before getting all the way through her bedroom doorway.

"Elizabeth!"

"What?" she says with far too much innocence in her voice for what she'd just done.

"Stop that."

He's got to grab the backs of her thighs tighter so she doesn't topple over as she starts to try and wiggle off of his shoulder. Before thinking, he slaps ass in one hard slap, causing her to stop moving immediately.

"Did you just spank me?" she asks, breathless.

Pulling her gently over his shoulder and setting her down onto her bed he just stares down at her before smirking. "From what I remember, that used to be one of your favorite things."

Betty flops backwards across her mattress. "You're impossible."

"Have you calmed down now?"

"Bite me, Jug."

"Gladly," he says, pushing her over until there was room for him to climb on the bed next to her. "But not before we talk about a few things."

"God, you're such a girl," she moans out, trying to roll over onto her stomach even as he's tugging on her, making his way to her headboard, settling her between his legs.

"Are you gender stereotyping me? I'm offended."

"Good," Betty answers petulantly. "You offend me."

He sits back against the headboard, his arms coming around her as she huffs at him. "Do I?" Leaning forward just enough to put his mouth next to her ear he whispers, "Do I really?"

Feeling her shiver, he's pleased with himself even as she ignores him.

"Oh, you're not talking now?" He chuckles to himself as she shakes her head. "Okay. Fine. I'll talk first then."

Settling back, he makes himself more comfortable, positioning her further between his legs, arms sliding under hers to settle around her waist.

"I think you've picked up some of Veronica's traits, you know. Bad ones. For instance, my Betty would never kick me."

Betty scoffs at him, staying quiet.

"See? My Betty has never given me the silent treatment either."

She makes a _hmph_ sound as she crosses her feet, her ponytail swinging as she moves her head to look around her own room.

Jughead presses a kiss to the crown of her head. "In fact, I'm not even certain you're not Robot Betty, sent to gather-"

"You're ridiculous," she huffs out at him.

"There she is! I knew I could get you to talk," he says arrogantly. He can see the small smile on her face in the mirror hanging across from her bed. "Besides, my Betty would never think I didn't want to be with her. Isn't that right?"

Turning her head to the side, she lifts a shoulder.

"Isn't that right?" he murmurs into her ear, tightening his hold on her.

"You've got a funny way of showing it," is all he gets as a response.

"You're so stubborn," Jughead declares. "Where is the Betty that knows I love her more than anything else in the world? The one that knows, without a doubt, that we're meant to be together?"

"Maybe she lost her memory," she tells him, "waiting for you to pull your head out of your ass."

He smiles to himself. "Don't tempt me like that, Betty. You know how I feel about your sass."

She adjusts herself, wiggling closer to him and relaxing into his front. "Don't worry, I'm un-tempted enough for the both of us."

"That's right, baby, talk dirty to me," he says, flexing his fingers into her sides, making her laugh out loud. "I might just come in my pants if you start getting sarcastic."

"Like that time when you-"

"Hey, now," Jughead interrupts, "I thought we agreed to never bring that up."

"I never agreed, I only kept quiet to soothe your fragile male ego."

"Ahh, there's my girl, always willing to sacrifice for the greater good."

Betty twists her head to the side so she can look up at him. "If I recall, didn't you make it up to me?"

Sliding down further into her bed, he tugs her up higher, moving them both until she's laying next to him, her head on his chest and a hand running through her hair as he looks up at the ceiling. "If I remember right I made it up to you three times."

"Don't feel so smug," she says, "I've got something that only needs batteries, doesn't want to talk, and does exactly what I ask it to do. Every. Single. Time."

Jughead groans at the thought of her in the spot he's currently laying in, hands between her thighs, nothing but the sounds of her moans ringing through the room. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Yes."

"Yeah? Alright then, keep going."

"No, I don't think I will, you don't deserve it," Betty informs him.

"I don't?"

"No."

"I think I do," Jughead says, pulling her closer. "After the month I spent sleeping on your sofa, watching you prance around-"

"Prance? Really?" Betty interrupts with a laugh.

"Yes. You pranced around in your little pajamas, showing off your legs and teasing me with them. The almost see through tops?Torture. I'm pretty sure that's a crime."

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Betty replies with a casual shrug of her shoulders.

"Oh so it was for me?" he asks, smirking.

"Of course not," she tells him, "I've been trying to catch the eye of Mr. Jordan for months."

Jughead swallows down a laugh. "Have I been getting in the way of your need to seduce the eighty year old retired mailman across the hall for a month now?"

"Yes," Betty sniffs at him in disdain. "He gets me hot, Jug, what can I say?"

Burying his face in her neck, he softy bites her skin, making her twitch. "You're such a liar."

"Acting like everything I do is for you is incredibly arrogant," she informs him, snuggling further into his side. "You don't own me, Jughead."

"And yet," he starts, his hands moving down to grab onto her hips, fingers pressing firm into her skin, "you're mine just the same."

Betty scoffs at him. "Really? Where was that in high school or even a year ago? Or how about two years ago when you insisted I try dating someone else? Was that just so you could do it too?"

Gripping her hips even tighter, he rolls over her until she's on her back and he's leaning over her. "Are you saying you think I touched any other girl but you? Did you let that loser touch you, Betty?"

"Jug-"

"Because I think we both know you're the only girl I've ever touched," he interrupts, almost growling at her. "You may have dated some nameless moron two years ago but you've always been my girl, Elizabeth."

"You told me to!"

"I did," he agrees, sitting up on his knees. "Of all the things I tell you to do that you blatantly ignore, that's the one you pick to actually do?"

Betty nods at him with a defiant look in her eyes. "Yeah, that's the one I picked."

"Why?"

"You know why."

Jughead runs his hands down her legs, gripping the backs of her knees, pulling her until her legs are resting over the tops of his thighs. "Were you trying to make me jealous?"

"I don't see how that's possible seeing as I was just doing what you asked me to do."

"Playing coy are we?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

Leaning over her, making her legs spread so he can fit further between them, he looks down at her big green eyes, challenging her. "Did you kiss him?"

Betty blinks at him twice before answering. "In what way?"

He almost smiles at her. That's my girl, he thinks. Always pushing her limits. Bending over just enough to gently press his lips to hers he forces himself to pull back right when he hears her breath hitch. "Like that."

"Yes."

He knew that but he's not thrilled with having it confirmed for him. "Is that the only kind of kiss you let him have?"

"There are other kinds of kisses?"

He shakes his head at her, amused. She's biting her lip and staring up at him and he wants to kiss her again. Or punish her. Or both. Moving his hands until each palm is flat against the mattress next to her head he puts more of his weight on top of her, kissing her again. At her barely audible groan he slides his tongue against her own softly before pulling back, nipping at her bottom lip before letting go completely.

"Did you let someone else taste you, Elizabeth?"

Her eyes are a little glazed over as she whispers, "No."

"Why is that?"

"You know why."

Bringing his mouth next to her ear, he sucks lightly on her earlobe before murmuring to her, "I do. But I want to hear you say it."

"He was a terrible kisser," she tells him as primly as one can with swollen lips and mussed hair.

"A terrible kisser?"

"Mmhmm," she hums out in agreement. "Not that I have the best to compare him to-"

"That sass," he says, cutting her off, "it's going to get you in trouble."

"Doubtful."

"You think?"

"I do. I think you've gone soft."

Pushing his pelvis firmly against her, he rolls his hips into hers, ripping a moan from her mouth. "Does that feel like I've gone soft to you?"

"I couldn't possibly tell," she lies, running her tongue across her bottom lip.

"What did I tell you about that mouth of yours?" he asks, running his nose along her jawline, taking in her sweet, clean scent, laying soft kisses as he makes his way to her neck.

"I can't recall."

"Is that right?"

Biting the juncture of her neck where it curves into her shoulder he feels her shudder under him, breath catching.

"Jug," she whines out, her head turning to the side to give him better access even as she's trying to keep her stubborn nature.

"What?" he asks, running the tip of his tongue over the bite he'd made, soothing it. "I don't think I heard you."

Her fingers are flexing into his the skin of his arms, the slightest of pinches each time her nails dig into him. "You know there's only you."

"But there wasn't, was there? There was some nameless, faceless, totally pointless guy you let touch you, isn't there?" Jughead rolls his hips into hers again as he brushes his thumb under her chin, pushing it up and to the side to hold her in place as he explored more of her neck.

"I didn't want him," she almost gasps out, her legs coming up and locking around his waist. "You told me to move on."

"You still let him kiss you, didn't you?"

Betty whimpers out a little moan. "You didn't seem like you were interested in doing it any longer."

"These lips," he starts, running his thumb across her lip, "are mine, Elizabeth. Aren't they?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

Twisting her hips, she's trying to get a better position for friction as he grinds against her. "On if yours are mine."

Breathing out slowly, the warmth of it giving her goosebumps he turns her head to look at him. Meeting her eyes, he gives her a soft, slow smile. "Always."

He sees her eyes water and stops all movement, pulling back in concern.

"Betty?"

Jughead feels her take a steadying breath, her chin giving the barest hint of a wobble before she swallows it down.

"You left me all alone, Jug. You broke my heart and if you do it again-"

"Hey, hey, none of that," he cuts in. "Everything I do now, all the choices I'm making, it's because if I've learned anything over the last year it's that there's no history of me without you and there's no future I want that doesn't have you in it."

"You hurt me," she whispers, wiping a hand under her eye.

"I know I did and I'm sorry. I'd prefer it if you let me spend the rest of my life apologizing for it but if you don't want-"

"Of course I do, you idiot," she interrupts, slapping him on the shoulder. "Why are you so dramatic?"

"Just born that way, I guess," he quips at her, getting a small smile in return. A success, he decides. "But I'm still your idiot, right?"

"Jug," she groans, rolling her eyes.

"I missed you," he tells her. "Every day."

"I missed you too."

"You know what else I missed?"

Betty sighs. "Really?"

Ignoring her, his fingers take a path across her collarbone, along the collar of her shirt, over the soft fabric and across the swells of her breasts. "I missed...your snoring."

Offended, Betty glares at him. "I do not snore."

"You do, sweet girl. It's the cutest sound, too," he informs her, pulling the hem of her shirt one handed, while leaning on the other for leverage. "Like a little engine."

Laughing at him, she pushes his hand away from her shirt. "You think that's going to get me to take my shirt off?"

Pushing the shirt up again, he gets it past her breasts, staring down at the white lace. "No, I think if I tell you that good girls get to come, you'll take it off faster than I ever could."

"That's not fair," she says, breathless at the implication. "Using things you know I like against me like that."

"I think it's more than fair after you teased me for a month."

"I wasn't-"

"Don't lie to me."

"Fine, I was, but only a little."

He huffs out a laugh. "A little?" Tugging her shirt until it's up and over her head, he pulls on it until it's free of her arms, tossing it to the side. "You were almost cruel, Cooper."

Shaking her head, Betty is grabbing a handful of his own shirt, yanking on it until he reaches a hand back to the collar of it, helping her pull it off of him.

Seeing her bite her lip as she looks him over, he can see her insecurity start to surface.

"Hey," he says, taking her chin with his fingers, causing her to look into his eyes. "I love you."

The smile that lights up her face makes his heart skip a beat.

"I love you too."

"That's my girl." Leaning down over her, he takes her lips with his own. Her hands caressing his back as he lays himself on top of her send shivers up his spine. The soft glide of her tongue against his sends his senses reeling, his hands moving up until they're in her hair, gripping it tightly and tugging on it until she moans into his mouth. "Aren't you?"

"Yes," she whispers.

"And are you still my good girl?"

Betty's thighs clench against his sides. "Yes."

"What do good girls get again?"

"They get to come."

"That's right. Now, here's the question," he says, sitting back on his knees, fingers ghosting across her stomach until they reach the button of her jeans. "Are you gonna be good?"

Gazing up at him with wide eyes, she nods.

"Look at my girl being so good even after all this time."

Flicking the button open, he pulls the zipper down with one hand as the other grabs the waist of her pants, tugging them down her legs, leaving her panties on for the moment. Working them off of her long legs is almost muscle memory to him, he's got them off and on the floor in less time than he thinks even she could have done it.

"It wasn't that long ago," Betty says with a roll of her eyes.

Jughead takes a foot in his hand, running his thumb over the arch, making her shudder at the sensation. "A damn near a year ago, I'd say it was close to forever ago."

His hands move up her calves, pulling her legs open as he moves up them, eyes on the lacy material sitting on her hips before moving up to look at the matching bra she still had on. Shaking his head, he reaches for the straps, pulling them off of her shoulders and down until they get caught on the bend of her elbows, trapping her arms as her breathing increases.

"I can't believe I haven't seen these pretty tits in almost a year."

"There are plenty to look at on the internet if you were so desperate you know," she informs him with a smirk, amusing him.

"None like these," he responds, leaning forward to catch her breasts in his hands, pushing them together and mouthing at her nipples, his tongue moving over one then the other. Sucking softly on her, he feels her back start to arch, pushing her breasts further into his face.

"Did you miss this?" he asks her, pulling back and sitting on his knees again.

Face flushed, she nods at him.

"What do good girls say?"

"Thank you," she says quietly, her knees coming up and locking onto his sides.

"Oh no, I don't think so," he tells her, reaching for the waist of her panties, tugging them down her thighs until they reach the backs of her knees. Pulling on the elastic of them, he tests their stretchiness before pushing her knees together and catching one of her hands, yanking the fabric and wrapping it around her wrist, keeping her in place while he tugs on her other hand, giving it the same treatment until both hands are settled and tied between her knees.

Pushing her knees towards her stomach, he moves down, arms stretching to hold her still as he runs the tip of his tongue through her slit, making her jump at the feeling.

Sitting up, he pulls Betty's tied legs and arms to the side so he can see her face. "Did you not like that?"

"I do," she murmurs to him, toes curling in anticipation.

"And you know why I tied you up, I assume?"

"My mouth."

Jughead nods. "That's right, I told you your mouth would get you in trouble, didn't I?"

"Yes."

"But you're such a good girl, aren't you? Letting me do what I want to you, knowing how good I'm going to make you feel in the end, don't you?"

Betty is biting her lip, the pink flush of her skin contrasting prettily with the sheets of her bed, looking at him with wide eyes.

Smacking the underside of her thigh in one sharp slap he stares at her, waiting for an answer.

"Yes," she finally responds, her voice a whisper in the quiet of the room.

"You're so good for me, sweet girl." Leaning back down, he uses his thumbs to hold her open so he can lick her clit, his tongue sliding down, teasing her before moving back up to flick back and forth. Sucking her gently into his mouth, her loud moan and tense legs make him smile into her thigh, pressing a soft, biting kiss before moving back to her little bundle of nerves. Slipping a finger into her, he almost groans at how wet she is.

"Is this all for me?" he asks, adding another finger at the sound of her heavy breathing. At her silence, he nips the inside of her thigh once more, a little harder than before. "Elizabeth."

"Yes," she gasps out, her fingers curling where they're trapped between her knees, trying to reach out for him.

"You're so pretty like this," he says, letting his tongue circle her once more before sitting back up, smiling at her as she lets out a disappointed whine. "I think I should keep you like this for a while for all the trouble you caused me."

"Jug-"

"But if you promised to be my good girl, I wouldn't have to, now would I?"

Shaking her head, she's pulling her legs up and clenching her hands, trying to stay still for him while trying to get free so she can grab him.

"Is that a yes or no, pretty girl?"

"I can be good for you," she whispers, looking thoroughly debauched with swollen lips, knotted hair, all tied up with her bra and panties.

"That's what I wanted to hear. You please me so well, don't you?"

"Yes."

Tugging on the elastic holding her hands in place, he frees her wrists before pulling her panties down and off of her legs. Tossing them to the side, he starts unbuttoning his jeans, pushing them along with his boxers off his hips and down his thighs until he has to crawl over her to kick them the rest of the way off.

"Are you still on the pill?" he asks, laying himself between her now open thighs.

"Yeah," she replies, her arms going around his shoulders, pulling him down onto her.

"You want this?" He's pushing against her, teasing her with himself.

"Please, Jug," she whimpers out, her legs going around his hips as he slides into her wet warmth making him groan as her breath catches.

"Do you feel that?" he murmurs into her ear. "Do you feel how we're made for each other?"

It's all she can do to nod at him as she moans into the skin of his neck, pressing sucking kisses anywhere she can reach as he moves in and out of her.

He's moving harder with each roll of his hips, making sure he hits her clit with each pass, making her gasp and moan and shudder, building her orgasm slowly as he whispers how much he loves her, how good she is to him, for him, how much they belong together before he loses coherency.

The heat building in his abdomen, the tingling at the base of his spine, the feeling of her fluttering around him as she squeezes him, moaning his name into his ear and murmured words of love send him over the edge first, Betty following close behind.

Both panting, the slick sheen of sweat covering them giving them goosebumps as it cools in the air of the bedroom as he moves out and off of her, falling to the side on her mattress. Bringing her into the circle of his arms, her face on his chest as he runs a hand over her hair she's tapping her fingertips on his chest when she asks, "This time it's forever, right?"

Tightening his hold on her, he tilts her chin up so her eyes meet his. "It was always forever, Betty. This time it's together."

* * *

 **Two Years Later**

Veronica Lodge is watching her best friend spin around the dance floor with her new husband and she couldn't be happier for them.

Even if she still thought Jughead was a pretentious pain in the ass.

Betty was the happiest she's ever been and that was all that mattered in the end. Despite being pushed out of wedding planning by the groom. Was it too much to ask that Betty have the best options available to her? Veronica didn't think so.

Traveling to Riverdale for the first time for the wedding had opened her eyes to the way that Betty and Jughead had grown up. How they could have gotten so close and stayed that way in such a small town. She figures it must be true love if Betty got out of her little podunk town and still couldn't stay away from him.

The last two years had opened her eyes to their relationship. She knows now that Jughead loves Betty with everything he has. She watched him make her a priority, work himself to exhaustion to make sure the book he sold kept him close to her, to make sure there was another one in the works to help start their lives together.

Veronica had watched him move off of the couch and into Betty's bed, questioning the speed at which they were moving which caused some friction between herself and Jughead at first. The loyalty he'd shown her best friend endeared him to her. But just barely.

As long as Betty is happy, she tells herself every time they get into yet another argument on their ever clashing life views.

Leaning against the bar, Veronica is people watching when she sees Betty approaching out of the corner of her eye.

"Are you having a good time?" Betty asks, moving her dress out of the way so she can hop on a bar stool to rest her tired feet.

"I am," Veronica tells her. "You look like you're having fun."

Betty smiles. "I am. I've never been happier."

Following her line of sight, she sees Betty is staring at Jughead who is talking to some tasty treat with red hair and broad shoulders. "That's all I ever wanted for you, Bettykins."

"I know," she responds, reaching out and grabbing her hand with affection. "What about you? Any plans for your own happy ending anytime soon?"

Staring at the red head before catching sight of another red head walking their way she just looks over at Betty and shrugs with a grin. "Tell me about the red head."

Looking between the guy Jughead is talking to and the woman in a crimson dress still walking towards them, Betty meets Veronica's eye with confusion. "Which one?"

"Both."

 **A/N- Just finishing this up, happy Monday!**


End file.
